Blog 10

    I certainly learned about the impact of culture on society through this course. In addition to several specific examples of how culture impacts education, child rearing, and even commercialism, there was even a chance to look at blogs of other students who studied abroad, and how they adapted to their new environment. Although I didn’t necessarily learn new specifics on how to interact with people from different cultures, I did learn more general ideas about cultural expectations and the reasoning behind each one. And throughout the WordPress site, the various blogs, and the assignment takeaways, I believe I improved on my critical thinking skills. While the tasks themselves were never particularly exhausting work, they did challenge me to think about things from a different culture’s perspective or from a different aspect. For example, one of the artifacts required me to ask someone raised in a different culture about gender assumptions for specific careers. I was somewhat shortsighted in that I expected more similar results to my friend’s assumptions, but we answered oppositely on about half of the jobs. Having to think about why there was such a difference in our responses without input from my friend let me use some of the knowledge I’ve compiled from the textbook to make reasonable deductions.  I always felt Social Psychology was an important subject, and this class deepened that feeling. In an environment where people tend to forget that sociology and psychology are sciences as well, it’s refreshing to see research and studies that prove there’s a lot more beyond chemistry and biology when it comes to human behavior. Also, there was some terminology that I used a lot in the colloquial sense that I never had the dictionary definition for, such as the independent and interdependent self.

One thing that I would’ve done differently if I was to retake the class would be to take it in person. While I enjoyed being able to do assignments and lessons when I wanted to, I feel like I might’ve been able to discuss/listen to discussions more if I took this course in a physical classroom. However, since I took this course online, I believe I improved academically with following deadlines more closely. Since I mostly had to rely on finishing things on time without the amount of reminders I would normally get with multiple lectures a week, I had to schedule my time better. I feel like I became a little bit more organized this semester. One skill that I learned is obviously how to use WordPress. I have never used this site before, so simply being familiar with the site is an asset that I can use in the future.

  Source: https://onlinelearningtips.com/tag/discovering-different-cultures/

I think the most valuable concept I picked up in this course is the ability to methodically consider cultural differences. I believe I started this course with reasonable knowledge on how to be considerate and accommodate others’ beliefs and values. However, my knowledge of other cultures outside of news articles was relatively limited. Having a general idea about cultural values and ideas gives me new things to think about during various encounters. For example, I learned that in general, certain East Asian cultures will often times use eye movement to show expressions, even in emoticons. I usually look for obvious body language signs, or facial expressions, to determine someone’s mood. Learning this difference contributes to a new dimension of reading situations. This picture helps visualize the different aspects of culture that I’ve learned to consider.

Blog 9

   In no particular order, three of the most interesting topics I learned this semester was the display rule, the difference between the independent and interdependent construals of self, and Hofstede’s five value dimensions. The display rule is an interesting concept to me because of how it shows that cultures not only differ in their practices and their beliefs, but also their expressions. I always believed that expressions were basically universal, but never considered on a cultural level that showed something like “happiness” or “disgust” differently. The independent and interdependent construals of self were interesting because they gave definition to what I always sort of thought about. I always felt like people tended to act differently in certain situations, but never had a concrete definition about what that idea was called. The module surrounding Hofstede’s value dimensions also showed me a unique perspective on cultural values. It gave me more objective measures across larger sample sizes of how different cultures perceive things like social structure and individualism. It placed numbers based on how important various ideas are to different cultures, and it helped me compare these ideas through a set value instead of a general “this is what this group of people think,” that a simpler study would show. Thinking about my second assignment takeaway about how Americans put things bluntly when in conversation, I feel that the idea applied to my eighth blog. The picture included in the eighth blog shows how westerners tend to clearly express themselves throughout their entire face, as opposed to eastern Asian cultures that show it mostly through their eyes. I find the connection funny, because whether it be through our words or our faces, Americans will always make it obvious how we feel. If we’re upset about something, we tend to not be afraid to show it in one way or another. While not discussed in the exact same terminology, the ideas of the independent and interdependent self in this course is connected to ideas I learned in marketing. This concept is shown as people showing different personality traits in different social situation in this course, but is shown in marketing as a technique for networking. While you may need to act a certain way in front of your boss, you could be more friendly/joking around coworkers or customers, as people tend to react to friendliness with being more open.  Being able to express different behaviors in different situations can help make sales or just improve the efficiency of the work environment, and showing a different “self” can contribute to one’s success.

 Source: https://www.geekwire.com/2014/amazon-updates-kindle-app-ios-support-flashcards/

For each unit, I liked to use the flashcard creator that Amazon Kindle offers with the e-textbook. It helped me organize the important terms for the course as I read, and helped when studying for the tests. They were also a good way to organize this blog post, as it was easy to see ideas and concepts.

Blog 8

    I’m not particularly sure if this is a cultural issue or not, but I’ve noticed that my friends that are Middle Eastern aren’t very expressive, or when they are, their faces seem more angry. For instance, throughout like a couple of hours together, full of jokes or otherwise funny moments, my friends would keep a neutral or stoic face the entire time. When asked about it, they said they found some of it funny, but wouldn’t show that they did for most of the time. I sort of expected for when somebody finds something funny, that they would laugh, but my expectations were rarely met. Outside of the occasional snicker or smile, my friends remained serious. In general, I’m more used to an open-mouthed laugh simply because that’s what I’m used to people doing. However, I guess that response would be normal if that is the culture/environment they grew up in (unless they didn’t actually find the stuff funny, and were lying to us to make us feel better). Universality helps explain that although I didn’t get the boisterous laugh that I expected out of our friends and received a slight snicker now and then, there was still the concept of laughing/smiling that applies to a funny situation across cultures. The display rule may explain that they are probably more expressive alone or in otherwise less social situations. While they may not want to laugh as loudly as the rest of us were, they may not have laughed as loudly because their culture doesn’t warrant them doing so.

 Source: https://www.scientistlive.com/content/25240

This image is a good representation of the display rule. The top row represents Western Caucasians’ expressions, and the bottom row shows Eastern Asians. Although there was little movement of the mouth in the Asians’ expressions, there was a lot more eye movement to show the different emotions, in comparison to the Caucasians’ expressions which varied a lot more with the mouth. This represents the display rule, because this drastic difference in the exact same emotion is a result of different cultural views on expression in social situations.

Blog 7

     Fairy tales have served as a basis for easily presenting morals and other cultural values. Fairy tales tend to differ from culture to culture, and there’s usually some sort of lesson to be gained either at the end or as an underlying theme throughout the entire story. For example, Hansel & Gretel taught the idea that you should be careful about trusting strangers. The version Americans tend to learn in grade school is where the kids simply get away in the end, and that’s sort of reflective of how we want the lesson, but tend have a “happily ever after” in most cases. However, in the original German version, the kids are eaten for their greed and negligence, and that was reflective of how German culture was/is more brutal in their teachings. Although the same lesson is taught, the tale is presented in a different fashion to illustrate different cultural norms. Fairy tale protagonists teach equality to younger audiences in ways such as people who are socially downtrodden (whether they be poor, such as in Cinderella, or otherwise discriminated against, as in The Princess and the Frog or Mulan) are the “winners” in the end of the story, while the ones who do the discriminating are usually the ones who fail in their ambitions. To elaborate on one idea, despite being a woman in a patriarchal society where women were discouraged from heroic roles, Mulan snuck her way into the military to save China from the Huns. The movie taught that anyone can be a hero, man or woman, and taught audiences that they should fight for what they believe in. When I was younger, Ash Ketchum from the Pokemon series was an influence on me. Despite his numerous failures, he continuously got back up and fought for his friends. He saved the world multiple times through each movie, all because of his dedication to doing what is right. He taught me that no matter how many times you may fail, you should keep trying your hardest to reach your dreams.

 Source: https://www.hban.org/News/Inclusiveness-An-Interesting-Way-To-Improve-Angel-Results.649.html

This picture represents inclusiveness, which is a relatively consistent theme in many fairy tales. This particular image represents racial inclusiveness, which throughout history (and even now) was an issue. Making sure that everyone is treated equally and with respect, regardless of their background (racial, societal, economical status, etc.).  This idea is generally taught through most cultures. This picture shows people of different races joining together in a circle, representing a message of inclusiveness.

Blog 6

    I meet all of the various needs of the self determination theory through my various day to day experiences at school. I meet autonomy through the fact that I go through classes and work out of my own decision. I made the choice to go to college, and although much of it is work that is required to graduate, I willingly do it because I want to reach my goal of being a physical therapist. This is a goal I chose for myself, and it’s a goal that I work towards accomplishing. I meet competence through the lessons and skills that I learn through my various classes. I gain the knowledge pertinent to my future through classwork, tests, etc. that helps me master the content. Anatomy, bio mechanics, and psychology are all important factors to becoming a competent and trustworthy physical therapist. Lastly, I meet the needs for relatedness through the connections I’ve made while at school and work. I’ve joined a few organizations and made friends and acquaintances that help me learn and relax when needed. On top of teaching me certain subjects or giving me advice, my friends also help me unwind when studying or work has me stressed out. I feel that I’ve made fairly meaningful connections.

Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.wikihow.com/Overcome-Loneliness-When-Surrounded-by-People%3Famp%3D1

Ignoring the title of the Wikihow, this represents how I feel I meet my needs for relatedness. Being surrounded by people I legitimately enjoy the presence of helps me remain minimally stressed during the year. I have plenty of fun with the variety of people I’ve met over my school career.

Blog 5

     For the statements that align with  the “independent construal of self,” statements 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 apply to this definition of self. Statements 1, 3, and 6 apply to the “interdependent construal of self.” Based on the number of statements that I linked to the independent definition, I believe I am quite independent. I put a lot of focus into accomplishing what I need to do, and more so adjusting my behavior to assure my goals/intentions are completed. I noticeably change my behavior from one peer group to another as to be appropriate to the situation, but I keep my ideals somewhat personal.  My interdependent self seems to change more often in order to be considerate to those around me. Some common proverbs I’ve heard that represent the independent self is “shoot for the stars,” “be the best ‘you’ you can be,” and “think outside the box.” All of these phrases represent the ability to improve one’s view of themselves through various means, such as doing your best, or thinking of things that someone else hasn’t. Do activities or projects or whatever that would distinguish your self from the crowd. Some proverbs I’ve heard that represent the interdependent self is “find your place in life,” “finding true love,” and “treat others the way you want to be treated.”  The first two phrases inspire the formulation of bonds with others, and finding “meaning” in life through the connections you make with other people. Treating others the way you want to be treated forms the interdependent self by connecting the personality you show around others and how you want others to interact with you. The point of this phrase was to encourage mutually amicable relationships. Lastly, I found the interdependent phrases came to mind easier. I believe this is a result of spending much of my life hearing this phrases from day to day, especially about treating others the way you want to be treated. This “golden rule” was an almost daily recital at my elementary school, and was similarly encouraged (but not stated anywhere near as often) up through high school.

Source: https://www.cafepress.com/+sarcasm_large_small_poster,574096715

I feel being sarcastic is essential to my personality. I very rarely mean it in a rude sense, it’s just that I have a very sarcastic sense of humor around people that I’m familiar with.

Blog 4

     Going through the first test, most of the questions I answered wrongly were definition based.  I noticed that I accidentally mixed up parts of the definition, which obviously resulted in the wrong answer.  Although I accompanied my reading with the slides on blackboard to sort of organize ideas as I went on, I did not review as efficiently as needed. It wasn’t much help that I had three other tests the same week, but that just means I need to adjust my study schedule to accommodate such a thing if it happens again. I need to space out my study time into smaller increments over the week before the test so that when I review the week of the test, it’s more of a casual review rather than “cram as much as I can for each subject” sort of review. I also recently noticed that the kindle app has a place where I can create flashcards, so making a set for the next few tests would be beneficial for reviewing content. Overall, a main strategy would be to find a way to minimize stress by organizing my study schedule, and an afterthought to calming nerves prior to taking the test. Creating flashcards in addition to my weekly readings will hopefully benefit my future test scores.

This is an example of the flashcards I used for studying. Through the Amazon Kindle app, I could make flashcards of important terminology and studies. Instead of just relying on going through the textbook before the test, I could use these flashcards as well to review material.

Blog 3

     On the NEO personality test, I scored average on Neuroticism, high on Extroversion, low on Openness, very high on Agreeableness, and high on Conscientiousness. I scored on the lower end of the average scale for Neuroticism, and I understand that score.  Some days when I’m really stressed out (which isn’t very often), I start worrying about every little thing. However, I feel I’m rarely sad or stressed out to this degree, so average makes sense. I’m somewhat surprised by scoring highly on extroversion, because around strangers I’m pretty reserved and quiet.  I’m very lively around friends when playing video games and such, which I would assume makes me extroverted then, but I feel I become introverted around people I’m not familiar with. Low on Openness is unsurprising, as I like to keep my problems to myself and solve them on my own. I’ll ask for help when I absolutely cannot figure it out for myself, but I would rather work through my feelings on my own. For example, whenever I’m feeling any sort of negative emotion (sadness, anger, etc.), I often isolate myself from others until I’m either back to neutral or happy again. Once again, I’m not surprised by scoring very high on Agreeableness because I almost never get into conflict with others and I’m courteous with everyone. I very rarely get into arguments with anyone, and when I do, they seem to be resolved quickly.  Lastly, I feel the high rating on conscientiousness is pretty accurate. While I’m not the most responsible when it comes to getting things done very early, I always finish my work on time. I almost never miss deadlines, and whenever I do, it’s never more than a day late. Whenever I’m assigned work, I make sure to finish it, and do so to the best of my abilities.

 A penguin of Few words

This image created using WordArt represents me pretty well. Although I don’t like describing my own personality, these are words that come up pretty often whenever somebody talks about me. There isn’t a particular reason it’s shaped like a penguin beyond me thinking that it was an interesting design.

Blog 2

     When I decided I wanted to be a physical therapist in high school, I had the thought that I wanted to go into a career that helps people and allows me to work with athletes. I always knew I wanted to go into the medical profession, it was just a matter of which one. Physical therapy was one of the perfect crossroad career for all three, so I decided to work towards becoming one.  Physical therapy is becoming a profession that requires a doctorate level degree, so I would obviously need to attend college and graduate school to achieve this dream.  Furthermore, my parents always pushed me to go to college for something and finish, as they hope that I achieve as much as I can.  They supported me both emotionally and with whatever financials they could contribute. College was almost always the plan for me because I grew up in an area where schooling is a top priority, and it just came to deciding on a career. I always admired my pediatricians for their kindness and their abilities, so I though being a doctor would be interesting, but did not want to spend 10+ years after graduating high school.  They encouraged me to go into medicine as well, but understood that being a doctor wasn’t for everyone.  So I spent more time thinking about it, and after talking with a friend’s dad who was a physical therapist, I decided on becoming one myself.

Class of 2020 Introduction Ceremony

This image is from my first official day at Old Dominion.  I was with my brother, father, and grandmother (not pictured; mother was not there for various reasons), all of whom were great influences on getting me to where I am today. It also a represents an exciting moment for me in my journey through college life, surrounded by people I love.

Blog 1

     I feel that all of the objectives outlined in the course syllabus will be important to my future endeavors. Understanding the impact of psychology and culture on the world will contribute to being more empathetic to certain situations. I’ve been in situations where I don’t process someone’s actions as part of their culture beliefs, and it would confuse me as the activity would seem “out of place.” Therefore, viewing culture and psychology together could help alleviate future confusion in those sorts of situations. Critical thinking skills are valuable to any person, as any health profession will require the use of thinking beyond just the concept to be able to meet everyone’s needs and expectations.  Going by the book may not be ideal for every single person you encounter as everyone is different in their own way, so being able to analyze concepts beyond the basics will be important.  Lastly, being able to link knowledge from course to course is important because oftentimes, the information overlaps anyways.  For instance, I was in Exercise Physiology I and Physiological Psychology at the same time.  Information would overlap sometimes during various units, and it helped me reinforce those ideas because I was essentially learning it twice.

As for what I hope to learn/gain from this course, I want to develop better cultural awareness skills and an understanding of psychological reasoning behind culture. As before mentioned, there are situations where I don’t always understand or even immediately recognize certain habits/activities as an embodiment of culture, so being able to identify such situations will be important moving ahead. I don’t necessarily expect for the class to solely teach me cultural traits, but to understand the psychology that creates such ideas.  My part in learning this material would be to make consistent efforts to study the modules on time, and to use the intermittent assignments and archives to reinforce the ideas by the end of each week.

Kappa Mikey and Cross Culture

Kappa Mikey was a favorite show of mine as a kid.  It was about an American actor named Mikey Simon who won a contest to be the lead actor of a Japanese show.  I believe this show and image illustrates experiencing different cultures through one’s own lens, as the show examines the daily life of Mikey as he adjusts to the culture of Japan.  He very quickly realizes that America and Japan have very different cultural values, and he is forced to adapt to the situation in order to be successful.

https://www.awn.com/animationworld/cross-cultural-cartoons-larry-schwarz-and-animation-collective